Thursday, March 09, 2006

Glove Save

Thank you, Canada.

Now we can get back to spring training.

If you were among those who hated the WBC before Wednesday you probably have a lot more company Thursday morning.

The United States team suffered a humiliating 8-6 loss to heretofore unknown power Canada and edged closer to George Steinbrenner’s wish to have his stars playing before the home crowd at Legends’ Field.

Dontrelle Willis started for the U.S. squad and was rocked early and often. His line looked like this: 2 2/3 IP 6 H 5 R 5 ER 2 BB 2 SO 0 HR 16.87 ERA. In the eighth inning Chase Utley crushed a ball to the deepest part of the park that would have given the U.S. the lead, but Adam Stern, you know, that ADAM STERN, made a leaping catch to save the canadian bacon for the visitors. Utley committed a cardinal sin: he styled at the plate, flipping his bat and raising his arms in triumph, only to record one long, loud out.

So much for the WBC, at least in America. Meanwhile, the fans must be rockin’ and rollin’ in Cuba, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic right about now.

7 comments:

Chris
said...

I have to disagree. For the true baseball fan in all of us, a game like yesterday's has to make us like this WBC thing all the more. I mean, it wasn't pretty, but it was an exciting game with real stakes. I can't see that anywhere else in March. And, I found I really did end up caring who won. I didn't want any Canadians beating us.

Sure, I rooted more for Utley than any of the other star players, but I was rooting for them too. I'll be watching this thing till the end, or at least until the US team is out of it. It's fun and exciting. Really, who can argue with Varitek's grand slam, the play at the plate or the almost homer from Utley?

Chris: There will be great plays and excitement in this tourney, to be sure, but I don't think the Dontrelle Willis we saw yesterday represented his best stuff by a long shot nor would Al Leiter make any national team I was putting together at this stage of his career, i.e.,when he had been released by his last two clubs. I will be posting something later on my proposal to make this event more representative of the best in baseball.

Korea beating Japan and Canada beating the US is exactly what I think makes the WBC so interesting, and heck, baseball in general so interesting. There's never a "sure thing" in a baseball game; if there were, the best team would never lose and the worst team would never win.

I didn't actually watch the game, but shame on Utley for doing that before the ball actually cleared the wall. I adore him, but after watching Bret Boone do his "Booney Bat Flip" a bunch of times out here right before logging a foul ball or a long fly out, I have no sympathy for people who end up looking silly that way.

So rather than the anagram of the day being "Chase Cameron Utley == An ace homers cutely", I suppose it's "Chase Cameron Utley == Clean Arm, Cheesy Out".

My comment the other day regarding Chase Utley's alleged styling needs to be corrected. I labeled it a cardinal sin and based it on various reports without having seen the replay, itself a cardinal sin. He didn't flip the bat so much as extend his arms and drop it. And he hardly raised his arms above his shoulders, holding them more or less extended and parallel to the groud. His "styling" was hardly the kind we have come to expect and dislike. Watch the replays for yourselves.